McCormick Promoted To World Superbike

By Cycle News Staff | 3/14/2012 7:13 AM

Photography By: Andrea Wilson

Brett McCormick will make the jump to the World Superbike Championship at the next round in Imola, the Canadian getting promoted from Superstock to World Superbike by the Effenbert Liberty Racing team when the team failed to secure the services of former World Champion Troy Bayliss for some one-off rides on its Ducatis

"The Effenbert company believes in motorsport and its use as the most powerful promotional engine so much that it was in their contemplation to run a Liberty Racing bike with legendary Troy Bayliss on a couple of occasions this season," team owner Mario Bertucci said in a press release. "They had a strong desire to give him the opportunity to ride as a wild card in a few races. Unfortunately, as we all know, this intention was not fulfilled successfully for various reasons. At this point, the possibility has vanished completely and Effenbert decided to reconsider other options of further investments in the team, with regard to the budget, which eventually resulted in the decision to engage a fourth permanent rider for the entire 2012 season. This decision is also promising something very interesting."

McCormick, who won the Canadian Superbike Championship in 2011, will join Sylvain Guintoli, Jakub Smrz and Maxime Berger on what is now a four-rider team.

McCormick had been contracted to ride the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup this year on the Czech team's Ducati Panigale.

"All I can say is this is a dream come true, and everybody who's been there for me over the years, thank you," McCormick wrote on his Facebook page this morning. "Wouldn't be here without an amazing family and circle of friends. Not to mention everybody in the Canadian motorcycle industry. I will do my best to do Canada proud this year. It all starts in Imola. I can't wait. Seriously, if anyone has a time machine I will pay top dollar to make April 1 come quicker!"